TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015

It appears that Hindu chaplain Rajan Zed has split the North Idaho senators, with Sens. Vick and Nuxoll opting to boycott. And Sens. Keough and Souza deciding to pay their respects. Sen. Nonini missed the prayer because he was running late as the result of a business meeting ...

The City of Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission is seeking artists for its Utility Box Beautification Project. The utility boxes, which keep lights flashing and communications running, are undiscovered canvases for artists, graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, and other individuals with the imagination to cover them with their artwork.

Contractors have received $29.7 million under the voided Idaho Education Network contract. Should the state try to get this money back? It’s one of the many legal issues surrounding the defunct statewide broadband system. And it’s one many state officials don’t want to talk about.

City leaders in Coeur d'Alene said the signature piece of art at McEuen Park is not as signature as they had hoped. The $100,000 arch into the park was supposed to light up the entrance way and change colors. It is called 'Under the Rainbow.'...

What were we discussing one year ago? Gov. Butch Otter announced his bid for a third term on March 3, 2014. Otter, of course, went on to beat back a challenge from state Sen. Russ Fulcher in the Idaho GOPrimary and then easily defeat Democrat A.J. Balukoff in the general election.

State Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, didn't boycott the Hindu prayer that kicked off the Idaho Senate session today. But he wasn't overly enthused about it either. See quote below from Betsy Russell report.

Just as an experiment, the Spokesman-Review is extending the commenting period for stories and blogposts from our current two day window to three days. The reason for this change is because we wanted to give people a longer opportunity to comment on our blogposts, which...

At Old School North Idaho, Keva Wolfe posts this photo of the old Johnson Boat Works (circa 1890). The boat works was operating from the same area off City Beach where Brook's Seaplane is housed now. BTW, has anyone taken a ride in Brook's Seaplane?

the national blog Wonkette weighs in on decision by state Sen. Steve Vick to boycott Hindu prayer at Idaho Senate today: "Idaho state Sen. Steve Vick is all in favor of the First Amendment and freedom and stuff, but that doesn’t mean he has to sit and put up with it when a Hindu cleric gives the invocation at today’s session of the state Senate..."

A plurality of Hucks Nation predicts Gonzaga will win at least 2 games in NCAA Tournament to reach Sweet 16. Today's Poll: Do you support the decision by Kootenai County Sens. Steve Vick & Bob Nonini to skip Hindu prayer to open Senate today?

A judge in Kootenai County lowered the bond for former North Idaho College financial aid director Joseph M. Bekken today, even as a prosecutor said Bekken is suspected of having used federal financial aid funds to buy photographs. Bekken is accused of offering students scholarship...

AM Headlines: Spokane police are investigating a package of racist, threatening literature sent last week to the head of Spokane’s chapter of the NAACP. The incident has left Rachel Dolezal, the new president of Spokane’s NAACP, concerned for the safety of herself and her 13-year-old son.

It appears the Republicans in the Idaho Senate want Idaho to pay $2M for a presidential primary in March next year. Our Republican leaders are responsible for depressing voter turnout by closing the May primaries, allowing extreme ideologues to win office. Now they want $2M more out of the public coffers. What chutzpah ...

President Barack Obama, right, smiles as outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, left, bows to singer Aretha Franklin as she arrives in a surprise appearance to sing at an event celebrating Holder at the Department of Justice in Washington Friday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn...

Seven senators remained outside the Senate chamber this morning as guest chaplain Rajan Zed delivered today’s opening invocation, a Hindu prayer, then took their seats immediately after it was done. The seven: Sens. Vick, Nonini, Nuxoll, Den Hartog, Rice, Patrick, and Siddoway. Vick had previously announced his plans to walk out ...

Chairman Larry Kenck of the Idaho Democratic Party sez the recent profane-laced email sent by President Alex LaBeau of the Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry reflects distain Idaho's good-ol'-boy government has for teachers and school children ...

Former Republican Sen. John Goedde was one of the first recipients of a new Abraham Lincoln award at the Ada County Lincoln Day banquet last week. "They gave me a very nice award and I am very pleased with it," Goedde said. According to a...

Hillary Rodham Clinton exclusively used a personal email account to conduct government business as secretary of state, State Department officials said, and may have violated federal requirements that officials’ correspondence be retained as part of the agency’s record. Mrs. Clinton did not have a government...

Far from leaving them in the dark without service, the demise of Idaho’s multimillion-dollar statewide school broadband network has brought several North Idaho school districts better service at a lower cost. “We’re getting more bandwidth now than we did before,” said Seth Deniston, technology director for the Coeur d’Alene School District ...

Fliers with a Ku Klux Klan message were left in the driveways of residents on the east side of the Coeur d'Alene Place neighborhood early Sunday morning, according to police. The alleged littering incident occurred between midnight and 5 a.m., police said. The flier had...

House Majority Leader Mike Moyle’s bill to end the twice-a-year daylight saving time changes in Idaho has run into a problem: By engineering the change to occur on July 1, it would put Idaho into permanent daylight saving time, rather than permanent standard time. And...